Conduit and retaining means



July 24, 1951 w. A. SHERBROOKE CONDUIT AND RETAINING MEANS Filed June 16, 1948 IN VEN TOR. lialiezr fl. Sizer/Vania Patented July 24, 1951 f UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,561,540 i j s CONDUIT AND RETAINING MEANS Walter A. Sherbrooke, Great Kills N.Y., assignor to Piping Specialties, Inc.,'New corporation of New York York, N. Y., a

Application June 16, 1948, Serial No. 33,397

1 The present invention relates to the retaining of conduits or piping and more particularly to means for maintaining conduits or piping in a definite relationship but in flexible or movable manner.

In the construction of steam power plants, for example, various fluid conducting conduits or pipes are erected while atroom temperature, at which temperatures the conduits have certain lengths. When fluids of different temperature subsequently pass through the conduits, the conduits change in lengthand also tend to shift their positions in a more or less lateral direction. Usually the major changes in length and positions occur at the'time the powerplantis first put into operation, when the piping is brought from a c o1d to a hot position, although simila r changes occur in instances Where a power plan'tmay be shutdown (thus going from hot to cold position) and later started up again. Additional piping movements or shiftings may occur under the influence of shocks and jars such as are caused by earthquakes. The change in length of the piping is particularly appreciable with the elevated temperatures utilized in modern power plants.

Provision must be made for accommodating such changes in conduit dimensions, and for accommodating longitudinal movement of the piping; in order that failure or fracture of the conduits not occur. Any such failure withthe comparatively high temperatures and pressures used in modern power plants might well prove disastrous. Various expedients have been adopted in order to allow movement of pipe lines under conditions such as those above referred to, but

they have generally been lacking in some important respect or the other. For example, some previous expedients have been too complicated for general commercial adoption and usage, other expedients have not maintained desired piping alignments, and still others have involved objectionable erection or fabrication difiiculties.

The present invention aims to overcome the above and other difiiculties or disadvantages by 9 Claims. (0]. 248-49) providing a new and improved combination conn o,bject off the present invention is. to provide a new and. improved combination conduit and retaining means. I Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved conduit supporting means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a newland improved conduit guiding means.

Another object is to provide conduit supporting'and guiding means which may be erected as aun'it.

Still another object of the invention is to provide new and improved means for accommodating expansion and contraction of a conduit and for maintaining the conduit portions in alignment during such expansion and contraction movements.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved conduit retaining construction which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment ofthe invention in practice.

not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the P away, illustrating one form of the present invention;

]Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2 2'of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevationalview, illustrating a modified form of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing another form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating a further form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1.

The device of the present invention may be used at any desired location and in any desired position in a power plant, processing plant, et cetera. For purposes of clarity and convenience in illustration and description it will be shown and. described chiefly with reference to its utilization in a horizontal position.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings there is shown a portion of a conduit or pipe line comprising one conduit portion 4 connected or joined by suitable expansion-contraction accommodating means 5 with additional outwardly disposed conduit portions 1 and 8. The particular expansion-contraction accommodating means 5 illustrated is of the corrugated or flexible bellows type, opposite ends of the bellows being joined with the conduits'4, I and 8 by welding or in any other suitable manner. As outwardly disposed conduit portions 1 and 8, and other conduit or piping connected therewith, expand or contract in a longitudinal direction the folds or corrugations of the bellows members 5 move together or apart, depending upon the direction of .movement of the various conduits. The inner ends of the bellows type expansion means 5 connect with a fixedly secured or anchored central conduit portion 4. The present invention is not limited to the use of a flexible bellows or corrugated type expansion-contraction accommodating means as other types, such as the slip type expansion joint, may be utilized.

The conduits 4, I and 5 may be of any suitable diameters and lengths and the outer ends of the movable conduit portions I and 8 may be beveled or inclined to facilitate welding or attachment of them with the ends of relatively long pieces of pipe or conduit (not shown).

The centrally disposed conduit portion 4 is fixedly secured in position by welding, bolting or otherwise to a supporting leg or member I 0 adjacent the upper part thereof, the lower end or portion of the supporting leg Ill being welded or otherwise fixedly secured in position on a base-or,

foundation member I; The base member I is preferabl of substantially H-shape or channel shaped cross section and the lower end of the anchored supporting leg Ill extends inwardly to a channel 6 between upwardly projecting flanges of the base .member I (Fig. 3)

i The supporting leg It! may comprise any suitable wide flange beam, channel or platesection, the upper portion thereof being cut away to accommodate the underside of the conduit 4 which is preferably welded thereto. The central portion of the anchored supporting member In is preferably cut away or recessed at II so that in fabrication the welder is obliged to interrupt the weld-rather than to weld entirely across the length of the web; this minimizes the possibility, of creating objectionablev stresses or strains'and possibly weakening the conduit portion 4. Angle members I3 may be welded to the flanges of the base member I and to the upwardly extending leg fmember Ill to provide increased strength and retention together of the base member I and supporting leg. The centrally disposed conduit 4 is fixedly secured to the supporting leg ID for only a relativel short length and no objectionable stresses or strains are set up.

,. Each of the outwardly disposed conduit sections 1 and 8 may be secured, by welding or otherwise, to supporting legs I5 formed from suitably duit portions.

4 away at their upper portions to receive the curved adjacent section of the conduits. As illustrated in Fig. l the outwardly disposed supporting legs I4 and I5 have their webs disposed transversely across the base member I and the center supporting leg Ill has its web portion disposed longitudinally of the base member I. Either disposition may be used to support the centrally disposed conduit portion or the outwardly disposed con- The flange sections located at opposite sides of the supporting legs I4 and I5 are preferably recessed or cut away at IE to minimize the possibility of creating undesirable stresses or strains incident to the welding together of the conduits 1 and 8 and the supporting legs I4 and I5.

The lower portion of each of the supporting legs I4 and I5 is spaced from the web 9 of the base member I and is provided with a foot portion I! shown formedfibm a suitable flat metal plate.

flanges 2 and 3 of the base member I. Thechannel thusformed provides a, guideway for the lower portions of the .conduitsup'porting legs..I4 and I5.

Preferably each foot portion or plate member. l H rests upon support bars or members shown at opposite sides of the base member guide chan.-. nel 6, the support bars preferably being substan-v tially round in cross section. There isthus :pro,

vided substantially a line contact between the upper edges ofthe support bars I9;and the underside ofthe foot portion or plate IT.

bars 20 secured to, the base member I and exetending along the upper surface ofthe foot member I at opposite sides thereof. bars I9 carry the movable-supporting legs I4 and I5, together with the conduits attached thereto, and facilitate movement of the conduits, the :re-- taining bars or members 20 maintain thefoot portions H in position within theguidewayi, and the upwardly, extending flanges or wallsiof the base member I prevent excessive lateral or transverse movement of theconduits :I and ,8, and other conduits connected therewith. a

The assembly comprising the base member I; conduits 4, I and 8:w'ith their expansion contrace tion accommodating-means, the lfixedxsupport'ing leg I0, and the-movable supporting legs I4 .and I5 may be prefabricated or assembled in a shop and sent to a particular jobas'a. complete uni-tfoi' installation as a unit. The completev unit or assemblage may be fixed into position on the building steel work by welding, bolting or other wise.

After the unit has been mounted in posi tion on the building steel work. adjacent conduits may be attached by welding-pr otherwise tothe outwardly disposed ends of the movable conduits I .andB. Theentire unit maybe'used wherever desired in the power plant, processing plant or the The support legs I4 and. I5 are free to move longitudinally within the channel formed. by the web 9' and the upwardly extending's'ide Thus the like and may be placed in horizontal, vertical,

inclined; or any other suitable position.

In usage, when connected with adjacent lengths or runs of piping, theruns of piping may expand or contract under the influence of heat or cold to move or shift the positions of the outwardly disposed conduit portions 1 and 8. The expansioncontraction accommodating means Sabsorbs the expansion or contraction and the supporting legs l4 and I5 may move longitudinally with the piping along the guideway 6. The guideway Ii formed by the upwardly etxending flanges of the base member I retains the piping in position against objectionable or detrimental lateral or transverse movement; the small spaces intermediate the side edges of the support plates l1 and adjacent base member flanges 2 and 3 permit free movement of the plate I1 along the channel 6 andare small enough not to permit excessive lateral movements. The retaining bars 20 retain the feet portions of the movable supporting legs within the channel 6 and the supporting bars I 9 facilitate the longitudinal movement of the conduits lengthwise of the base member l. Thus longitudinal expansion or contraction movements of the pipes or conduits is accommodated, an anchor point is provided for the piping system, and the conduit or piping is retained in position against objectionable lateral movement. l i

' While the base member I has been shown and described chiefly as a substantially H-shape cross section it may comprise a substantially U-shaped channel or other suitable form.

InFigs. 4 and5 there is illustrated a modified movement-facilitating means which may be used with the movable supporting legs I4 or I5. A supporting leg Ma is provided with a foot portion or plate member I'Ia which rests upon a plurality of rollers 25 that extend transversely across the base member I a. The end portions of the roller members 25 project outwardly through slots or openings 26 in flanges of the base member Ia and are retained against longitudinal movement out of the recesses 26 by apertured retaining and spacing plates 28 and cotter pins or keys'29. The cotter pins extendthrough transverse apertures in the rollers 25; The supporting rollers are shown resting upon tracks 3I provided by forming the slots 25 at a position spaced slightly from the Web 9a; in this manner the rollers 25 are Spaced away from the cross web 9a of the base member Ia. If desired the recesses 26 may be formed closer to the cross web 911 so that the roller members 25 rest for substantially their entire lengths against, and roll on, the cross web Supporting a foot portion Ila on rollers facilitates movement of supporting legs I 4a and of conduit portions 1a connected therewith. The construction is not as simple as that of Figs; 1, 2 and 3 but enhanced movement provided may be desired in certain instances. Suitable supporting balls may be utilized in lieu of the rollers 25 illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. If desired, the side plates 25 may be welded to adjacent flanges.

Movement of the supporting legs I4, I5 and Ma, together with the conduits supported thereby, maybe further facilitated by lubricating the bars I9 or rollers 25 with graphite or suitable grease. The various conduits may be covered with some insulating material. N In Figsd there is illustrated a form of the invention comprisinga base member I b'jge'nerally similar to that of Fig. l, a fixed support leg IOb secured to a conduit 41:, an expansion-contraction 6. accommodating means 5b, and a single movable support leg [4b to which is welded or secured a conduit 11). The movable support leg Ilbis mounted within a channel to accommodate longi- I tudinal movement of the conduit lb as previously described. The movement-facilitating means i1- lustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 may be used to support.

the leg portion l4b of Fig. 6. A unit embodying the construction of Fig. 6 may be utilized in insupport legs being secured to movable conduitportions 10 and 8c. The movable support legs I40 and I50 are movably mounted upon supporting means similar to that already described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 3; the support means of Figs. 4 and 5 may be used if desired.

As either of the conduits 'Ic or flc expands or contractslongitudinally the supporting legs I40, I5c may move longitudinally along the guideway provided by the upwardly extending webs of thebase member Ic. Suitable supporting bars I and retaining means Zllcbooperate with the upwardly extending flange portions of the base member lc to restrain the support legs I40, I50 and conduits connected therewith against lateral or transverse movement, yet free longitudinal movement of the conduits is permitted.

It will be seen that the present invention provides new and improved combination conduit and retaining means adapted to movably support and guide conduit or piping. The device may be mounted as a complete unit in any desired position in a power plant, processing plant, or the like. Conduit or piping may freely move or float longitudinally under the influence of expansion or contraction forces and yet is restrained against objectionable transverse or lateral movement. The conduit is maintained in desired position and cannot objectionably shift or move laterally so as to rupture or fracture the conduits. The device is simple and inexpensive to construct and may be installed as a unit for subsequent ready connection with adjacent lengths of conduit.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a base, a plurality of conduits ad J'acent said base, expansion-contraction accommodating means connecting said conduits, means, retaining one of said conduits with the base for longitudinal movement of said conduit, and roller-like means intermediate said latter conduitand the base adapted to facilitate movement 0 said latter conduit. 2. A device of the class described for maintaining conduits aligned with each other comprising. expansion-contraction accommodating means connecting said conduits together, a base, guide said. base, and-one of said supportmeans having, a-portionlying in close proximity to said flange and. being free to move longitudinally along the base and flange duringmovement of the conduit connected therewith, said flange limiting .teral motion of the latter, mentioned conduit and its support means. i v

A device of the class described for'maintaining conduitsaligned with each other comprising expansion-contraction accommodating means connecting saidconduits together, a base, guide means including a flange projecting from said base-and extending generally longitudinally. of said conduits, a plurality of support means secured-t0 said conduits and supporting themon said base, and each of said-support means havingva portion lying in close proximity to-saicl flange'and being 'free to move longitudinallyalong the base and flange during movement of the conduit connected therewith, said flange limiting lateral motion of the conduits and their support means.-,

f1. Adevice of the class described fonmaintaining conduits aligned witheachpther comprising expansion-contraction accommodating means connecting said conduits together, abase, guide means including a flange projecting from said base and extending. generally longitudinallyof said conduits, a plurality of support means. se-. cured to said conduits and supporting them on said base, at least one of said support means being fixedly positioned with respect to said base.

and flange, and at least one-of said-support means having a portion lying in close-proximity ,to said flange and being free to move-longitudinally along the base and flange duringmovementof the conduit connected therewith, said flange limiting lateral motion of the {latter mentioned conduit and its support means. v V

5. A device ofthe class described for maintain ing conduits aligned with each other comprisingexpansion-contraction accommodating means connecting said conduits togethena base,guide. meansincluding a flange projecting from saidbase'and extending generally longitudinally of said conduits, a plurality of support means secured to said conduits and supporting them..onsaid base, at least one of said supportumeans having a portion lying in close proximity o-said flange and being free to move longitudinallyv along the base and flange during movement of the conduit connected. therewith, said. flangev limiting, lateral motion ofthe latter mentioned conduit and its support means,fand means forholding the movable support means out of. contact with said base to thereby facilitatemoveniehtlongitudinally along the base. I

6. A device of the classdescribed for maintaining conduits in alignment with each other comprising, a channel-like base having a central portion from which projectspaced guide fl ges, a plurality of conduits supported by said-base andhaving adjacent end, portions spaced longitudinally from each other, an expansion-contraction bellows connecting together adjacent portions of said conduits, separate support meanssecured to each of said conduits and supporting them on said base, and at least one of said. support means being movable to and fro along said bas 'intermediate the guide flanges with expansion and contraction movement of the-conduit that islcoiinected tl' erewith said guide flangeslimitingthe. extent oi? lateral motion of the latter. mentioned conduit duringsaid movement. I A device of the. class described for maintaining conduits in alignment with each other comprising, achannel-like base having acentral portion from which project-spaced guide flanges, a plurality of conduits supported by said base-and. having-adjacent end portions spaced longitudi nally from each other, an expansion-contraction; bellows connecting together adj acent portions of. said'conduits, separate support means secured to; eachof' said conduitsand supporting them on said base,at least oneof said conduits being fixedly-pQs-itioned-with respect to said guide flanges, and at least one of said support means being movable to andfro along said base intermediate the guide flanges with expansion and contraction movement; of the conduit that is connected therewith, saidguide flanges limiting the extent oflateralmotion of the latter mentioned conduit duringsaid-movement.

8. A device of the class described for main; taining conduits in alignment with each other, comprising, a channel-like base having a central portion from which projectspaced guide flanges, a plurality of. conduits supported by saidbase and having adjacent end portions spaced longitudinally from each other, an expansion-contraction bellows connectingtogether adj acent. portions of saideonduits, separate supportmeanssecured to eachof saidconduits and-supporting thein on said base, at least one of .said support means be: ing' movable to and froalong said basenintermediate the. guide flanges with expansion. and contraction movement of the conduit thatgis connected therewith, said guide flanges limiting the extent of lateral motion of thel-atter mentioned conduit during said movement, and means intermediate said central portion of the base and-the movable support means for holding the latter means-out of contacttwith said central portion to thereby facilitate to andfro movement of the support means.

9. Adevice of the class described for maintaining conduits aligned with each other comprising ex ansion-contraction bellows connectingasaid conduitstogether, abase, guide means including aflange projectingfromsaid base and extending generally longitudinally ofsaid conduits, a plurality of. supportmeanssecured to said conduits, one of said supportmeans having a portionlying inl-close proximity to said flangeand being free to move longitudinally along thebaseand flange during movementof'the-conduit connected therewith, and means for retaining said portion in said closeproximity to the .flange,.said flange limiting lateral motion of. the. latter mentioned conduit and its support means. l WALTER A; SHERBROOKE.

REFERENCES CITED I'I he following references. are of record in the flle of this-patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,373,439 Wheatley Apr.-10, 1945 

